More than 7,000 Minority Business Owners and Purchasing Executives Expected to Attend

NEW YORK, Sept. 13, 2011/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) will host its annual Conference and Business Opportunity Fair at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, October 30 through November 2. Considered the nation's benchmark forum on minority supplier development, the four-day event is expected to attract more than 7,000 attendees, including Asian, Black, Hispanic and Native American business owners, as well as Fortune 500 chief executive officers, corporate minority supplier development professionals, purchasing executives and decision-makers, and representatives from international NMSDC counterpart organizations.

"Atlanta has evolved into a dynamic business hub for some of the nation's top corporations, and is home to a thriving minority business community representing a strong mix of industries," said NMSDC President Joset B. Wright. "We are excited to bring our signature event to Atlanta. It provides a unique opportunity for NMSDC to help foster profitable business relationships between our corporate members and innovative minority suppliers from Georgia and across the country."

The theme for this year's conference is "Minority Businesses and Corporate America: Raising the Bar through Sustainable Strategies." The event schedule begins on Monday, October 31, with a one-day Business Opportunity Fair – the largest national procurement event of its kind. The tradeshow will feature more than 700 corporate and minority business exhibit booths. A Leadership Development Series with concurrent sessions for minority business owners, buying organizations/supplier diversity professionals and NMSDC regional council presidents will be held on Tuesday, November 1. Twenty-two content-rich workshops and plenary sessions led by chief executive officers from the nation's leading corporations; corporate supply chain professionals; subject matter experts on minority supplier development; and government officials highlight the conference schedule for Tuesday and Wednesday, November 2.

The conference culminates on Wednesday evening with an Awards Banquet to honor the Corporation of the Year, Suppliers of the Year, Minority Supplier Development Leader of the Year and NMSDC Regional Council of the Year.

The Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council, one of NMSDC's 37 regional councils, will co-host the conference.

As an added educational benefit of attending the conference, supplier diversity and supply management professionals will have the opportunity to take the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) exam for its new professional designation – Certified Professional in Supplier Diversity™ (CPSD™) – in Atlanta on Thursday, November 3. NMSDC worked collaboratively with ISM to develop the curriculum for the designation and has arranged for members of either organization to take the exam. For more information about the exam, contact isminfo@ism.ws or visit http://www.ism.ws/certification/NMSDCRegister.cfm.

For additional information on the NMSDC Conference and Business Opportunity Fair or minority business development, call the NMSDC at (212) 944-2430 or visit the Web site at www.nmsdc.org.

About NMSDCProviding a direct link between corporate America and Asian, Black, Hispanic and Native American-owned businesses is the primary objective of the National Minority Supplier Development Council, one of the country's leading corporate membership organizations. It was chartered in 1972 to provide increased procurement and business opportunities for minority businesses of all sizes.

The NMSDC Network includes a national office in New York and 37 Regional Councils across the country. There are 3,500 corporate members throughout the network, including America's top publicly-owned, privately-owned and foreign-owned companies as well as universities, hospitals and other buying institutions. The Regional Councils certify and match more than 16,000 Asian, Black, Hispanic and Native American businesses with member corporations that want to purchase their products and services.